When tragedy strikes, everyone responds individually. For Equity member Blair Baker and Zac Kline, co-Artistic Directors of Missing Bolts Productions, their response to the Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando, Fla., last June was to make art. “You have this urge to do something as an artist,” Baker told Equity News in December, “but you can feel, ‘What can I do as an actor?’”

Realizing her emotional state in the wake of the Orlando shooting mirrored that of the character she had played in Caridad Svich’s The Hour of All Things, Baker suggested reaching out to Svich to get to work on some kind of artistic response. Kline had previously collaborated with Svich in creating 24 Gun Control Plays in 2013. “It started from a place of deep urgency to want to do the project,” Kline explained, “but also from Blair’s incredible passion balanced with my efficiency.” Continue reading →

The grassroots #FairWageOnstage (#FWOS) movement scored a major victory in November 2016 when Equity signed a new agreement with the Off-Broadway League. We asked some of the leaders behind the campaign to share with us how a two-year process of organizing and advocacy resulted in this historic win.

While the motivation to seek fair wages lies in everyone’s need to pay the bills from the work they do, the inspiration for the #FWOS campaign came at a January 2014 Equity Membership Meeting. Following a passionate discussion about the terms of touring contracts, members Carson D. Elrod and Nick Westrate found themselves in the elevator musing, “Why aren’t we New York actors doing what those touring actors are doing?” Continue reading →